Have a better glimpse at Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit trilogy with the release of some gorgeous images, including your first look at Lee Pace's Thranduil, the Elvish king and father of Legolas.

The last time we covered The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, the first part of Peter Jackson's prequel to his critically acclaimed Lord of the Rings trilogy, we were looking at the cool new banner with no idea that the film will eventually grow from a two-part film to a full-fledged trilogy. Announced late July, it is now official: An Unexpected Journey will be released on December 14, 2012, while the second part (and newly added part), The Desolation of Smaug will release a year later on December 13, 2013 with the third and final chapter of the trilogy, There and Back Again releasing on July 18, 2014. Depending on how you perceive this, this might be a terrific news or the worst piece of developmental news for the film ever. In the meantime, we have seen some truly gorgeous official images from the film via the “Hobbit Movies,” the official app for the film.

Complete with tons of intriguing never-before-see character images, behind-the-scenes set pictures, and production stills from Middle Earth, the app is chockfull of goodness for fans of the series. We have earlier covered the release of the first image of the assembled cast of the 13 Dwarves including Peter Hambleton's Glóin, the member of the Company of Dwarves and who is also the father of Gimli, the fierce warrior dwarf famously portrayed in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy by actor John Rhys-Davies. With the release of these new images from the film, we get our first look at Lee Pace (Ned in the unfortunately short-lived ABC series Pushing Daisies) as the Elvish king and father of Legolas. Head over to iTunes Store to download the app and in the meantime, hit the jump to check out these cool images.

Here’s the official synopsis for the film:

"The Hobbit" follows the journey of title character Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor, which was long ago conquered by the dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakensheild. Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and Giant Spiders, Shapeshifters and Sorcerers.

Although their goal lies to the East and the wastelands of the Lonely Mountain first they must escape the goblin tunnels, where Bilbo meets the creature that will change his life forever … Gollum.

Here, alone with Gollum, on the shores of an underground lake, the unassuming Bilbo Baggins not only discovers depths of guile and courage that surprise even him, he also gains possession of Gollum’s “precious” ring that holds unexpected and useful qualities … A simple, gold ring that is tied to the fate of all Middle-earth in ways Bilbo cannot begin to know.

The Hobbit Trilogy, starring Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Benedict Cumberbatch, Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Hugo Weaving and Andy Serkis, will be released in three parts, with "An Unexpected Journey" scheduled to be released on December 14th, 2012, "The Desolation of Smaug" a year later on December 13, 2013 and "There and Back Again" on July 18, 2014.